The goal of Smithsonian Science for North and South Carolina Classrooms was to provide teachers with ongoing, differentiated professional development and research-based curricular materials to improve elementary student achievement in science, mathematics, and reading. This work used an inquiry-based science curriculum, Smithsonian Science for the…

The five-year project, "Smithsonian Science for North and South Carolina Classrooms" (hereafter "Smithsonian Science"), offers important evidence on the impact of the phenomena-driven science curriculum, "Smithsonian Science for the Classroom," paired with ongoing, differentiated, high-quality professional learning…

i-Ready is an English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics instructional program for Grades K-8 students featuring an individualized plan for instruction based on each student's performance on an online, computer-adaptive diagnostic assessment. Once students complete the diagnostic assessment, i-Ready builds a unique lesson plan with a…

In a large school district in Florida, many third-grade students have been retained over a 7-year period. Enrollment documents, such as summer school registration forms and seven annual summer reading camp evaluations in 2013-2019, indicated that 13,693 students attended the 4-week summer reading camp during this period. Summer reading camps are…

Objective: To describe the distribution of pediatricians and family physicians (child physicians) across school districts and examine the association between physician supply and third-grade test scores. Data Sources and Study Setting: Data come from the January 2020 American Medical Association Physician Masterfile, the 2009-2013 and 2014-2018…

This review critiques the highly-praised and influential 2001 study, "Getting Tough? The Impact of High School Graduation Exams," which concluded that "minimum competency," or high school "graduation exams," had no effect on student achievement. The review compares the test classifications of "Getting…

Background/Context: Impact evaluations of schooling reforms in developing countries typically focus on tests of student achievement that are designed and implemented by researchers. Are these tests any good? What practical and principled guidance should researchers in the field follow? We aim to answer these questions. Test scores have, of course,…

The North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Program is a private school voucher program that provides state-funded vouchers worth up to $4,200 to eligible students entering kindergarten through 12th grade. Because the public and private school sectors administer different assessments, we recruited approximately 700 students to take a common,…

This study presents estimates of Black-White, Hispanic-White, and income achievement gaps using data from two different types of reading and mathematics assessments: constructed-response assessments that were likely more cognitively demanding and state achievement tests that were likely less cognitively demanding (i.e., composed solely or largely…

States are increasingly recommending that districts and schools use multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to improve reading outcomes for all students. States have also suggested MTSS is a viable service delivery model in response to new state legislation to screen, identify, and treat students with word-level reading disability (i.e., dyslexia).…

The current study reports on a large-scale quantitative analysis of classroom talk practices and links to different measures of reading achievement within upper elementary classrooms. Data involving 745 fourth- and fifth-grade teachers and 18,844 students from the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) study were used. Talk was quantified via…

In this article, the author shares the results of a case study that explored how using student-produced video essays supported historical thinking. The goal of this study was to explore the intersection of historical literacies in relationship with digital practices and see how digital literacies might be used to engage students' historical…

The Texas Education Code (§ 29.051) requires school districts to provide every language minority student with the opportunity to participate in either a bilingual or English as a second language (ESL) program. This evaluation report summarizes the performance of students who participated in the district's Dual Language Bilingual Program. Included…

The provision of high-quality early mathematics instruction and intervention is critical to ensure that all students are on track for academic success. Given this, identifying and utilizing assessments that can enable the detection of nonresponse to mathematics instruction is a critical aspect of early intervention. To this end, the current study…

Too many talented students who go to under-resourced schools do not achieve their full potential. Though they may perform very well relative to their classmates, these students do not receive the same kinds of academically challenging opportunities throughout their educational journey as do their counterparts in better-resourced public and private…